Sermons

Today our Children's Pastor, Travis Young, preaches on Jesus' Baptism and temptation.

Our speaker for the weekend, Scot Pollock, closes our great event by taking the Word laid before the students throughout Disciple Now and brings a great challenge to our body.

As we close our series on the book of Nehemiah we will see our faithful leader once again standing in the gap for the glory of God. He longs to see Jerusalem and the Jews restored. He continues to be an influence to the Jews as they struggle with obedience.

The following is an interview with Laine Denson of ReGift Ministries. It is a ministry that is in it's infancy. It is a ministry that desires to truly impact the city of Carrollton and Farmers Branch. You can find more about ReGift Ministries at www.regiftministries.org.

Things are going well in Jerusalem. The Jews have just dedicated themselves and the wall to the Lord. Their leader, Nehemiah returns to Persia and things start to unravel. Upon Nehemiah's return to the city he finds the people forgetting where they had come from and where God had brought them. They start turning to the ways of their fathers who they had longed to not be like because of their iniquities. Nehemiah returns and cleans house. We all are need of cleansing. God has called us to purity. So, how is the house of God? The house of God is you if you know Jesus. Is there some cleansing needed?

In our day there seems to be much bad news, whether from the news channels, to the newspapers and even in our own homes. In the day of Nehemiah there were many depressing days from financial concerns, security concerns, and family concerns. But in spite of that the Jews were filled with joy and laughter. The Jews, under the leadership of Nehemiah, sought to think as God does, sought to see as God sees, sought to have God's perspective and see the big picture. This allowed the Jews to have joy in spite of their circumstances. As we will see today their joy is brought to a peak at the dedication of the wall. Their joy is so great that it can be heard from afar!

Nehemiah recognizes that Jerusalem needs more people to make the city strong and viable. Over 100,000 people are added to the city from the suburbs. Nehemiah remembers those unknowns who have such a huge part in the revitalization of Jerusalem. The unknowns in life help pave the way. Without them nothing would be accomplished. God uses the unknowns and they never go forgotten by Him. During this sermon we remember the many unknowns who never get a chance outside the womb due to abortion. This week marks 35 years since the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. May we seek to redeem the culture like Nehemiah did and seek to have abortions made illegal.

Last week we saw the Jews during Nehemiah's days declaring their desire to mirror the faithfulness of God in their lives. A great paralleling text to Nehemiah 10 is Luke 19.11-27. In this parable Jesus challenges His followers to trust and try.

This Sunday we continue our series on the book of Nehemiah. As we journey through this classic book we will see how God has called us to be the church and impact the city. Today we look at Nehemiah 10. The Jews delcare this day in a document of great importance to mirror the faithfulness of God. This document is full of promises to be faithful to God and His Word. The Jews long to be faithful at home, in their rest, at work and in the community of believers. With this new year what will you make of first importance? What will you declare with your life in 2008?